Originally posted on the HH board by Abz, rescued from Google cache by me.

"seeing as the quinn link isn't as obvious on here as it is from EZboard, I thought I'd compile a quick maintenance guide to lessen the repetitive questions. If mods think it is worthy, I think it would serve well as a sticky.

1. Info. on differences between handmade and Elysees

2. Sleeping

3. Washing

4. Painful Scalp

5. Fuzzy dreads

6. Pokies

7. Itching

8. Dreads that unravel

9. Taking out your dreads

1. Info. on differences between handmade and Elysees.

Size
Elysee Star dreads are manufactured dreads that you can buy from http://www.afrocare.com among other places.
Elysees are all 24" long and quite thin. Handmade dreads tend to be thicker, and you have the choice of how long you want them, and in a lot of cases, how thick you want them.
In the past, people have tried cutting elysee's, and i think they have succeeded. If you want to have a go, then I suggest you practise on one dread and see how it turns out. Also, you cannot specify the exact colours and effects you want with Elysees, as you can with handmade. Although the range of Elysees now offered is pretty large, so most people would be able to find something to suit.

Quality
Elysees are by far of lesser quality than (most) handmade dreads. Elysees will unravel fast, and get very fuzzy very soon. Handmade dreads are a lot more durable in general.

Re-Using
Most handmade dreads can be taken out, washed and put back in. Although this is possible with Elysees, they do not uphold to the same standards that handmade dreads do.

So why pick Elysees at all?
Because they are a bit cheaper than handmade, and you dont have to wait for them to be made. You can have your elysees in your hair about 4days after ordering them. Other than that, I cant think of any more good points.

2. Sleeping

Dreads can be uncomfortable to sleep in (unless you have roving which is the bestest for sleeping). They can also get a bit mangled when you sleep. This is mostly true for Elysees. Handmade dreads (in my experience) tend to hold up fine. Some people will tie up their dreads when they sleep, and/or cover them in a scarf or similar. This helps reduce the amount of fuzz you get on your dreads. this also applies to braids, and anything you have on your head that you want to keep looking sleek.

3. Washing

Personally, I don't wash my hair when I have dreads in. But you can. Dont wash it like you would wash your normal hair. Best thing to do is, just run some warm water over your scalp (not the extensions themselves. If they get saturated with water, they will be *very* heavy and kill your scalp, not to mention taking a year to dry). If you want to use soap/shampoo, then dilute some first, and do the same with that. If you use soap/shampoo, make *sure* you rinse your hair *thoroughly* after. If you dont, the soap can dry out and leave nasty white flakes on your scalp. To keep your extensions safe, out a plastic bag over your head (very becomming) or tie it up if you are havign a bath.

4. Painful Scalp

For the first week you have extensions (especially if it's your first set) your scalp will feel very tight and sore. You may get headaches from it (I know I do). After the first week, your hair has grown a little and so it won't feel as tight anymore, plus you will be more used to the extra weight. You may find you get little red bumps on your scalp around the edges of the sections. this is normal. It is just where your hair is being pulled by the dread, and they should go as soon as you take the dreads out. Often, you will get a lot of them in the first week, adn most will go after that (because of the hair growing thing). If you are worried abuot your extensions, then wait until you have had them in for a week before doing anything about it. Most things go away or get a lot better in this time.

5. Fuzzy dreads

Again, this is an issue that mainly comes up with Elysee stars. To get rid of the fuzz, or minimise it, consider wearing a scarf over your dreads when you sleep. You can also just get a pair of scissors and snip of the worst bits. This is maybe a method for the more relentless of you. I know I am always hacking up my hair/dreads with no regard for what may happen, to make sure they look nice.

6. Pokies

Pokies are where your natural hair sticks out of the braid. Mostly, they occur where the elastic is. I just snip mine off. It doesnt make all that much difference to your hair after if it is only a little bit. You can also use thread/more elastics to hold down pokies. If you are snipping pokies in the braid (not at the end where the elastic is) then dont cut it right next to the dread. Leave a bit poking out, so it doesnt just slip through to the other side as soon as you let go.

7. Itching

Dreads are itchy. Thats all there is to say really. Even sleek dreads/roving/whatever are itchy. Every kind of extension i have ever had have been itchy. Its something you can't really get away from. You can try to minimise it by using various oils. I have never tried any personally. Tea tree and rosemary (i think) are meant to be quite good. My best tip in this topic is: Use the spiky end of your rat-tail comb to get to itches you cant reach Wink

8. Dreads that unravel

Yet again, this is mostly a problem that occurs with Elysees. The scarf-over-head-while-sleeping method might help. If the unraveling is annoying you, you can try to re-seal them using steam; either from a kettle, steamer, saucepan of boiling water...use your imagination. Careful of your fingers when you do it. Just twist the dread, and hold it over the steam for a few seconds. You can do this while they are attached to your head. If you have takent the dreads out and want to re-seal them, then I have heard putting them in the washing machine helps tighten them up.

Quote:
Just to add to that, I've found a quick ix for unravelling Elysee Stars..

Basically hold one end tight (I have a high bed end so I put them in between by belly and the end of the bed so I have 2 free hands) and with another twist the dread and then hold it twisted at the very end.
Get a very powerful hairdryer and aim it about an inch or so away from the dread. turn on the hairdryer and move it non-stop up and down the dread (turning the dread over as well) for about 20-30seconds. This seems to hold them for a while, plus makes it easier to trim of frizzys and fly-aways!

9. Taking out your dreads

When you take out your dreads, you will appear to loose all your hair. You shed 100 hairs a day on average. Now imagine you have your dreads in 30 days. Thats 3000 hairs all tied up waiting to fall out. Don't get worried. It is normal. Only worry if you look at your hair after and see big bald bits. Take your dreads out one by one, combing each bit of hair through as you go. When all of them are taken out, wash your hair *carefully*. Use a powerful conditioner if you can, and condition it as many times as you feel is necessary. I usually do it 2 or 3 times, as well as leaving a bit on after I have got out of the shower. Personally I don't blow dry or straighten my hair (not that i ever straighten my hair) at all in the first few days after i take out extensions. But thats is just down to personal preference.

I'm very bored of typing now. I hope this has answered some questions

Abi x"

Edited by MissAnthropik to change the title so that this could become more of FAQ post

How long can I keep my dreads in?
This depends on lots of factors. Most people keep them in for 6-8 weeks, and generally no longer than 3 months as the roots can start to dread up and can then become difficult and painful to untangle. The length of time you keep them in will depend on how fast your hair grows, how tightly they were braided in in the first place, whether there has been any slippage, and how much of a stickler you are for having neat roots! Some people choose to rebraid the part line after 2 or 3 weeks to keep it looking neat and then redo the whole lot after 6-8 weeks.

If you keep them in too long do they start to dread in with your real hair?
No, but your own hair can start to dread at the roots. The dreads themselves will come out easily but the roots can be very hard to comb out

Why do i hear/read a lot about not having hair left after taking them out?
I have no idea. I don't think there would be several hundreds of people wearing dreads if when they took them out their hair fell out! When you take the dreads out it can seem like you are loosing hair. You shed about 100 hairs a day, so if you keep them in ten days that's 1000 hairs, keep them in 3 months and it's about 10000 hairs. All these hairs that fall out at the roots will be incorporated into the braid attaching the dread to your head, when you unbraid the dreads all these 10000 hairs that have fallen out completely naturally will be there. It can feel like you are throwing a massive ball of hair away, but just keep reminding yourself why!

Some people suffer some hair loss around the face if they use extensions that are too heavy or braided too tightly. If you can see white blobs on the ends of any hairs which have come out then they are being pulled out, no white blobs and they have come out naturally. If a section has a lot of hairs with white blobs on in it then you have got too much weight or tension in that section. Adjust it as necessary.

Can I install them myself?
Most people on here install on themselves or get a friend to do it. I can be tricky around the back, but just takes a bit of practice. Some people train their mum/boyfriend/nanna etc to braid them in so they can do the back. It is easiest IMO to do the back by feel. If I try to look in the mirror it confuses my hands. Some people have set webcams up pointing at the back of their head, then when you watch your hands on the monitor they are the right way round. Not tried it myself but I could see it working!

If you really don't want to do it yourself, and don't have anyone to help then you can get someone else to do it for you for a fee. Have a look in the extensionists in your area section on this board. If you can't see anyone near you, ask in that section. I would advise having a go first though, you might surprise yourself.

Which would you prefer for starters SE's or DE's?
It;s really a question of personal preference. Some people find one easier to make, some find the other, some find one easier to install, some the other. I would go for which you want based on the look you are after. If you are not fussed DEs are quicker to install so may be better for a beginner. You also don't need so many sections so can be a bit easier for sectioning.

Are DE's rougher on your hair?
No

How many dreads do I need?
About 50 DEs, maybe a few more, maybe a few less depending on how big you want your hair to be, how fat the dreads are, how big your head is etc. With SEs you will need about 80ish. Some people have done full heads with 50SEs, some use 120 SEs it depends very much on the look you are going for.

My hair is thin, does that matter?
If your hair is thin you will need larger sections, and therefore less dreads. No reason for you not to have gorgeous hair though

Will my hair be gross when I take the dreads out?
Your own hair will have been neatly braided away. When you take the dreads out you are simply unbraiding. Provided you have not left them in too long all you will need to do is comb out your roots, wash and go! As your own hair has been hidden away from the elements, and not washed as often as usual, you will probably find your hair is glossy and in excellent condition. To make the root combing out as painless as possible take one dread out at a time, after taking one out use your fingers to work out any knots, you may want to comb at this point too. I don't, but some do. Then repeat with each section until they are all out.

Miss_Panda wrote:
Also my boyfriend wants me to install some dreads in his hair too and his hair is about 2 to 3 inches in length, is that length gonna be oki to braid dreads into? cause i don't want them to fall out XD so any tips you can give me for installing them on shorter hair?
and lastly lol what thickness do you reccomend? post a pic if you can please ^^

that's about minimum length for installing them, i imagine it would be very fiddly but doable. If it's too short to braid there is a way i've seen of installing into very short hair, i think it's on the forum somewhere but i don't know the link. If anyone else knows? But it's basically tying the section of hair with an elastic, slipping the dread(for DE) through just under the elastic then tying the loose hair to one of the dreads with another elastic.
That might be confusing but i'm not sure how to explain well.

ooo mini bump. The top of my head was 2/3inches after i had it cut (stupid hairdresser) and i managed just fine to self install onto it. It was a little tricky obviously doing a self install but providing the dreads aint super chunky you shouldnt have a problem putting them in.

Miss_Panda wrote:
edit: one more thing atcually
anyone got three pics of all SE's installed / all DE's installed and a mixture of the two installed ..just so i can see the difference as to what they look like. sorry to be a pain
i just prefere making SE's really and dunno if they will look right them all being se'd that is

I'm really curious on this as well.. I have to decide weither I want SE's or DE's for my dreads, but I've found it a bit hard to find proper, descriptive pictures of how the real hair 'blends' with the dreads and such..

I know this reply is really dated, but since this thread is here for reference I'll go ahead and post anyway All of the dreads in my customer gallery are SEs (falls are at the top, extensions down at the bottom):http://ikickshins.net/g-dreads.php

DE pictures are really easy to come by in the Show Off section on the board since so many people use them.

So I've read quite a bit about hair loss from having dreads in, and I know by now that I should only worry if there are the little white bulbs on the ends of my hair. Thing is, I DO have the little white bulbs on the end of my hair when it comes out. Is some hair loss like this normal, or should I not have any pulled out by the root? It's really hard to tell sometimes, too, how much has hair has the bulb on the end and how much is just dander/dry skin that's come off my scalp.

And if I shouldn't be getting any hair pulled out from the root, I don't know what I'm doing wrong! I haven't actually been able to wear my dreads for any longer than 10 days at this point, so I install them, can stand them for about 7-10 days, take them out, wait 3-4 days, and re-install. So they haven't been in for any length of time, not really long enough to really start to pull my hair out, you know?

My opinion on the DE/SE debate..... I think double enders look better installed because you see less of the natural hair that is braided in.

Of those I prefer harlequins because you can match one half to the natural hair color and go crazy on the other half.

Both are easy to make but I will say being I have NO ONE I know that can braid at all I have to self install which I am not very good at, at all so SE's are easier for me as far as self installing goes, DE's I can do but by the time I am done I just want to rip them all out again from frustration!

As far as mixing them... I have heard alot of people say they prefer SE's close to the face as they lay nicely and DE's for fullness around the rest of the head.

[quote="AntaresJB"]Originally posted on the HH board by Abz, rescued from Google cache by me.

9. Taking out your dreads

When you take out your dreads, you will appear to loose all your hair. You shed 100 hairs a day on average. Now imagine you have your dreads in 30 days. Thats 3000 hairs all tied up waiting to fall out. Don't get worried. It is normal. Only worry if you look at your hair after and see big bald bits. Take your dreads out one by one, combing each bit of hair through as you go. When all of them are taken out, wash your hair *carefully*. Use a powerful conditioner if you can, and condition it as many times as you feel is necessary. I usually do it 2 or 3 times, as well as leaving a bit on after I have got out of the shower. Personally I don't blow dry or straighten my hair (not that i ever straighten my hair) at all in the first few days after i take out extensions. But thats is just down to personal preference.

oh thank god..i just took my extention off on halloween nite and took a shower the nextday ...i had wore them for a whole month ..then as i was showering i was loosing alot of hair and even after while combing my hair ..i kinda freak out cuz it was alot ...and then i went and search if this is normal .. i thought at first it was because maybe my hair was over prosses or something and became really weak because of the braiding or something but now i know its just natural ....glad i found this

I've been playing with fake hair for some eight years now*. I make my own dreads. I'm new to the forum and want to join with my somewhat laid back views on some care stuff:
- Washing dreads whilst wearing
- Washing dreads after use
- SE vs. DE

*Eight years and not getting bored or bald, I guess I can have my say!?

This stuff applies mostly/only to all-plastic dreads (mine are made of kanekalon: jumbo braid and other heat sealing stuff). I guess things are different with roving and maybe natural hair too. I wear my dreads sometimes up to four months, rebraiding every three to five weeks to keep the roots neat. I live in the north, so going out in the winter with damp hair would be a killer.

Washing dreads whilst wearing
I wash mine quite like I would wash my natural hair, but with diluted shampoo and concentrating on the roots and scalp and rinsing excessively. Washing is elaborate, so I do it only somewhat weekly or even less often. Skalp gets used to less washing quite quickly and stinking and itching lessens too.

Often I wash my dreads in the evening and then lay a towel on the pillow and spread my dreads on it when I go to bed. This way they are usually (almost) dry in the morning. Outdoors I might mosh (like them punks) and shake (like them dogs) to get some of the water out.

I do go swimming too, both the sea/lakes and pools, it's not impossible. But the hair will slow you down and lifting your head from the water is strenuous. Give it a go! Less swimming gives you the same workout, if your wearing dreads.

Washing dreads after use
I put mine in the washing machine, in a washing bag meant for delicates (I guess that means bras and such). 40 degrees celsius program and regular washing powder. Hang them to dry on the line loose or in the bag, anything goes. Only really crappy dreads can't take the treatment. After 5 to 7 washes curlies might need recurling, though. Some of my dread sets are still good to use after five years of rotation from storage to installed to wash and back to strage. Some must have been washed in the machine over ten times.

SE vs DE
I only use DE:s. Only reason people here stated they prefer SE:s (that I spotted), is that they fall nicer around the face. I always make a fold on the dread, where the middle, and therefore installing, section is. The fold goes against the scalp when installing. This way both ends of the DE fall nicely. I guess you could do this to bought DE:s as well, just fold and dip the folded end into hot water or steam it. Hold for a while, until it's set.

I stumbled upon something on youtube that caters to dreads, real and synthetic. And it has helped me so much in every area that i needed...until i found this Amazing site! I think its called doctoredlocks.